


bright eyes of the solstice

by rosegoldblood



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Drabble, Flash Fic, Haphephobia, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Post-Canon, Touch Aversion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24166450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldblood/pseuds/rosegoldblood
Summary: frank finds out a few things about the boy he may or may not love that no one else seems to notice. he resolves to help him, but it might end up in good things for himself too.
Relationships: Leo Valdez/Frank Zhang
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	bright eyes of the solstice

**Author's Note:**

> it's one in the morning and this could be quite possibly the stupidest thing i've ever written. also i have no idea how the structure or location of camp jupiter works so if by chance you do know and i am horrifically wrong: please tell me. 
> 
> title is from the song 'hypnotic' by zella day, a song i listened to on repeat while writing this fic, along with 'high enough' by k. flay. both great songs. anyway, i hope you enjoy! x

frank noticed things.

despite the teasing and the playful flack he was the subject of, he could be observant when he needed to be. and while 'needed to be' usually constituted a battle or at the very least an emergency, some things were... exceptions.

by 'some things' he meant leo.

listen, the kid was interesting. frank couldn't really understand him, and he'd be damned if anybody else did - but he could safely say as far as he was concerned that everyone was as in the dark as he was.

he was just so mysterious. not in a 'brooding, dark, quiet' kind of way (read: nico) but more of a, _hey, you've been annoying me for years now and i still know jack-shit about you._ for someone so cocky and arrogant and loud (gods, so loud), leo didn't talk much about himself beyond a superficial level. it was so strange and contradictory and that in itself made frank interested, engrossed, drawn in. 

or maybe leo was actually right about himself and he was _that_ hot. who knew?

_anyway._

"i'm leaving for new york now," hazel called out from the front, and frank smiled and got up, smoothing out his shirt. leo and reyna were already up front, the former covered in oil and soot stains. reyna was dressed in hunter garb as always.

"you'll be okay? it's not too far of a journey?" frank asked, concerned. he knew that hazel was so much more capable and powerful than she used to be, but he still hadn't lost the worry-streak when it came to people he loved.

hazel just smiled back. "yep, i'll be fine. besides, it's a great chance to show off my new shadow travel skills to the greeks over there." she placed a hand on her hip, jutting out, and winked. "i'll see you guys in like a week, okay?"

"maybe not for me. the hunters will be leaving for our next quest soon," reyna admitted.

"boo," leo called dramatically, and reyna rolled her eyes.

hazel laughed again. "okay, well, this calls for... a celebratory hug! everyone get in here!" she spread her arms and frank didn't hesitate to wrapping his own around her, careful not to squeeze her too tight. reyna joined soon after, although a little more tentative. "well? come on."

leo was standing frozen, and he gave an automated, forced smile. "yeah, yeah, of course. hold on." he shuffled for a moment and then stepped forward to join the hug, though he was still standing like there was a stick shoved up his ass. hazel squeezed them all affectionately and leo tensed up even more, which frank didn't even think was humanly possible.

after she released them, leo relaxed again and was back to grinning cheerily, although he still looked uncomfortable. "we'll miss you, haze." a murmur of agreement. hazel laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"you're such a sap," she teased, "but i'll miss you guys too. contact me when you have a chance, okay?" she told reyna, who rolled her eyes again - this time fondly - and agreed. "well, i'm leaving now, then. _for real_ this time. bye-bye!" hazel darted back into the dark crevice between two trees and the next second she was fading away into the shadows.

leo brushed back his hair, "she sure is something! anyway, i'm gonna go back to the hephy cabin and annoy -"

"vulcan," frank said absent-mindedly, watching reyna walk away, hands tucked into her pockets. she had relaxed a bit since resigning as praetor, and it was so obvious she was happier. reyna's resignation came with a liberty to expressed herself how she wanted to, a sense of humour, and the freedom to hop around the world and shoot animals with her bow. and frank was happy for her, of course, but it was always a little harder without her around.

"huh?" leo gave him a strange look.

" _vulcan_ cabin."

the other boy snorted and waved frank off. "whatever. anyway, i doubt you'll miss me, so -"

it was instinctive. frank wasn't used to that. maybe he wasn't the most logical of people, but he didn't blurt things out on a whim or do everything he wanted to do. knowing where that had gotten him several times in the past, he wasn't very partial to being reckless, and brash, and all the things leo were, basically. which is why he was so _surprised_ and a little mad at himself when he said it -

"come to mine." _damn. you've done it now, frank._ he struggled to make a reasonable excuse that didn't sound weird, or awkward, or vaguely concerning. "i, uh, got you something. from when i went to japan! for the quest. when i had to kill that chimaera..." _stop it! too much information! he knows that, you moron!_ "the one that was running wild around tokyo..."

_this just in! frank zhang is a grade-a idiot._

"aw! you got something? for _moi?_ " leo leaned in and batted his eyelashes, and it was probably meant to be playful, but it still made frank feel... things. "hold on. wasn't that tokyo quest like two months ago?"

"yeah, but i never got the chance to give it to you," he answered, letting out a relieved sigh when the sentence didn't come out of his mouth wonky or wrong, "so i thought i would now. uh, if you want it, that is. it's not really that impressive, just something i thought i'd buy for y -"

leo interrupted frank with laughter, tucking his hair behind his ear. "frankie, you're adorable. of course i want free shit! give me!" he mimicked a grabbing motion with his hands, bouncing on his heels excitedly. "let's go!"

frank sighed in relief and they started toward his private cabin. he shared it with hazel, but she was off to camp half-blood, so unless anyone interrupted him with important business, they'd be alone. which was nice, he supposed, but it also meant frank had no one to stop him from saying something embarrassing. especially in front of leo, who always knew what to say - and if he was ever embarrassing, it would probably be on purpose.

it was only a few minutes of a walk and leo took those few minutes as an opportunity to blabber about things that frank didn't really understand. but he liked leo's voice, liked to listen to him talk about machines and myths and wildly unlikely rumours circulating around the camp, so he just smiled fondly.

when they got to his cabin, leo hopped up on a table and picked something off of it. an old envelope with a few ink stains, the name _frank_ written on it, and a discarded purple wax seal. as leo went to read the letter, frank started and tore it out off his hands.

to his surprise, leo flinched and clenched his jaw like he was waiting for something to happen, arm raised up halfway as if to block his face. his eyes were squeezed shut. "sorry!" frank said, voice a pitch higher than it usually was. "it's a private thing. i'm sorry!"

"it's cool. it's okay," leo chirped, though his hands were still curled up at his sides, "so, uh, where's that thing you got for me? i want to see it." frank nodded and opened his drawer, rummaging through it, searching. he pulled it out of the shelf, a little dusty and chipped away but still impressive, its yellow shine still retained.

he leaned against the desk leo was sitting on and presented it to him: a small statue of a golden dragon. "so i met this artist while i was there. daughter of hekate," frank said hesitantly while leo traced his fingers over the ridges in the wings, "sweetest girl i'd ever met, i swear. and i dated _hazel._ " this made leo laugh. "anyway, i saved her from a bunch of empousai, and as thanks she offered to make me something."

when he looked back, leo was staring wide-eyed at the statue, which was about the size of his hand. "and you thought of me?" his smile was facetious as always, but beyond that, frank could tell he was touched. "that's, uh, really sweet, frank. thank you."

frank smiled and scooted closer so his side was against leo's, and the latter froze and inhaled. "oh, sorry," frank said, cursing himself for being way too weird and obtrusive, "i just... um, sorry. are you - okay?"

leo perked up, but it was so clearly fake it made frank cringe. "eh, don't worry about me. i'm a - okay!" he swung his arm across his chest. "thanks a lot for the statue, frankie. it means a lot to me. but i have to go now, so..." the table tipped as he jumped off of it, much to frank's dismay. "i'll see you later!"

he waved as he walked backward out the door, and then rushed out like he was being chased by something. frank looked around the cabin just to check, but he was alone, the only light coming from one of the windows. pink and orange streaked through the sky as the sun began to set, and an eagle cawed somewhere in the distance.

another failure. another bout of awkwardness from frank, of all people, who should have grown out of it when he won the war, became praetor, glorified by the rest of his camp as well as an actual god. but no, it seemed the fates were as adamant as ever to make frank stuttery and lovestruck around leo like he was a thirteen year old girl.

lavinia was leaning against a pillar when he stepped out, crunching on a candy cigarette (frank had no idea how she had got it - he was pretty sure they were banned). "hey, praetor," she greeted lazily as the wind swept through her hair, "going somewhere?" even she looked a little concerned, mostly because she had been the one to witness the countless times frank ran into the forest at night and not come back until it was dawn.

"yeah," he confirmed, "hazel's in new york, so i'm entrusting this place to you. don't cause any trouble." lavinia crushed the remains of the candy between her teeth and stood up straighter.

"aye." she saluted. "you can count on me, _sir._ " a mischievous smile appeared on her face and she skipped away into the dark.

frank sighed and let himself smile at the enthusiastic girl, so disobedient and yet so eager to prove herself. it almost reminded him of someone else, but he didn't want to think about leo - the whole purpose was to do anything but that. he stretched back, the world going brighter and sharper, claws scraping against the dirt. as a wolf, he bounded across the grass, howling at the sun dipping below the horizon all the words he couldn't say.

>>>

it had only taken a day for leo to go back to normal, jumping around like a hyperactive puppy, talking everyone's ears off. some people were amused at how energetic he was; some people scowled and rolled their eyes and told him to shut up. leo would listen, and then nine times out of ten he'd start again a minute later. 

"man, this one never stops talking, does he?" micah, a legacy of minerva, said, grinning widely. leo just smiled and continued telling the rest of the table about a flying toaster he had made, one that had exploded in piper's face, garnering a few laughs from the surrounding demigods. 

"you can say that again," frank replied, poking at his lunch, more transfixed with the way leo bounced on his seat.

leo never changed. it was one of the things frank had found so impressive about him, at first. through everything he had remained the same, the smile on his face the exact same as the one frank had first seen years ago. nothing seemed to get through to him: not fighting in a war, not dying, not losing his best friend, not being treated like shit by his now ex-girlfriend.

in fact, it was one of the things frank envied. he'd changed a lot, and most of the time it was good. but sometimes, in some ways, he found himself wishing that he was still the ignorant, bright-eyed, flustered boy he had been back then. sure, he'd been much more naive, but at least he was... happier. oblivious.

"anyway," leo was saying when frank decided to snap out of it and actually eat his meal, "the lava came out kind of wonky, right, and we didn't put enough red paint so we just decided to repurpose it and explode it right in annabeth's face!" he mimicked an explosion noise and a few people snickered at the thought of annabeth with fake-lava all over her face. "took lots of baking soda, but man, it was worth it."

"do you ever miss 'em?" someone asked, "the greeks, i mean. now that you're over here."

leo took a moment to think, tapping his finger against his chin. "i mean, a little?" he said, sounding a little unsure. "they were nice enough, but... i dunno. they belong over there and i belong over here, and i have some pretty nice friends at camp jupiter too." for once he sounded genuine, and his eyes met frank's for a moment, a small smile quirking at his lips.

frank felt his heart skip a beat, because that's who he was now, apparently. another voice started talking, and it was far more annoying than leo's. "well i'm glad you feel at home here!" priscilla, a legacy of apollo, with her voice an octave higher than it usually was. most people knew her as prissy because - well, she _was_ prissy. she slid across her seat to grin at him.

a few people tittered at the table, and leo smiled back, close-mouthed, eyebrows furrowed. prissy didn't seem to notice his discomfort, batting her eyelashes. frank stared intently, and his heart started to ache, like it was being squeezed. the feeling died down when leo pushed her back, not enough to be insulting, but enough so that they weren't a centimetre away from making out.

"uh, yeah, totally," leo continued while everyone around him giggled, "anyway, it's pretty cool here, so i don't think you guys are ever going to see the end of me any time soon." back to his normal self, he pointed a finger gun at the people across from him and winked. a few people gave exaggerated groans.

"aw, that's _good,_ " prissy crooned. this time, though, frank scrunched up his nose when she had the _audacity_ to wrap her fingers around leo's wrist, her fingernails scratching at his skin like a monster's claws. and if that wasn't enough, she also decided to snuggle up to him like a teddy bear, but if teddy bears had no concept of personal space.

leo's words died out in the middle of his sentence as he stared at the hand wrapped around his arm. his mouth opened, closed, opened, closed, like he was a fish. "yeah," he managed, still trying to resume speaking even though he was as stiff as a board, "so... um..."

he seemed transfixed on prissy's skin against his. 

"that's enough, priscilla," frank said, sensing the waves of panic rolling off of leo, "let go of him. if you'd like to hug something so bad, perhaps you should get a toy doll." at this, people seemed to forget the somber mood and laughed. prissy pouted but didn't dare to contest him, slouching forward and moving away. "hey, leo, are you okay? you seemed really... i don't know. tense."  
  


leo was staring at something in the distance. when frank turned, there was nothing but a few dining tables, and lavinia attempting and failing to dump pudding over reyna's head. "um... i'm fine. i think i need to go now, though?" the grin returned to his face, and as always it was plastered on like a mask. "lots of stuff to think about. i'll see y'all later!" 

he got up so fast frank was almost impressed, leaving his plate on the table and walked away. a few people murmured, but most of them just returned to talking and laughing. except frank, who watched him leave until he was a dot in the distance. someone sighed in sympathy.

"he really is something," micah stated, and although frank couldn't tell whether it was a compliment or an insult, he definitely agreed.

>>>

the next time frank saw leo, he wasn't pretending. frank knew how fucking creepy it was, to just look at leo without him knowing - even if it was only for a few seconds. he was fiddling with some kind of machine as usual. "hey," frank said after watching him, pick at a loose wire, "what's up?"

leo perked up and straightened on the fence he was perched on, "oh, nothing," he answered, "just making a little something. want to see?" without waiting for an answer, leo held up the robot, a little box with a camera lens on the side. stubby legs protruded from the box, and when leo set it down on the fence, it skittered around. 'it's kind of like a mobile camera. a drone, but smaller. and also it can't fly." he laughed.

"it's really cool," frank offered, and he wasn't lying. no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't really understand all the things leo wired and invented, couldn't quite get how it worked or what made it tick. maybe that was why it was so impressive to him - on the other hand, leo could throw himself into trash bin and frank would still adore him. "what's it for?"

leo shrugged like he hadn't thought about it. "dunno. spying, i guess. it's pretty undetectable, i'd say." he let the robot crawl up its arm before settling into the crook of his neck. "i don't really think about what stuff's for. when i make them, i just make them. after that it's up to... whoever i give it to."

"why don't you ever make stuff for yourself?" frank asked, leaning against the fence post, wincing at how weird the question came out. "i mean, like, for you to use. every time you make something you always give it someone else."

he sighed and tucked the machine into his pocket. "sometimes i do," he admitted, "but, like, not a lot. usually i don't really know what to do with stuff when i keep it to myself." his hands dove into his tool belt and pulled out a pack of gum, throwing a piece into his mouth. "besides, we all know it's the only thing that makes me useful. don't like being a dead-weight."

frank furrowed his eyebrows as leo leaned back on his hands, chewing the candy. he knew what he wanted to say, but not how to say it. unless he was ordering someone around, wording had always been kind of an enigma to frank, especially with things like comfort. everything he said usually made things worse or at the very least humiliating.

"it's okay to not be useful all the time," frank came up with. 

"i know." leo shrugged. "but there's nothing else likeable about me."

"are you serious?" for a moment frank was caught up in his disbelief, rocketing off the fence to gape at leo, blowing a bubble with his gum and popping it. "for once please tell me you're joking."

leo shot him a look that said: _why are you so worked up about this?_ it made frank blush and relax, crossing his arms. after a short while he started speaking again. "well... i'm not really funny, like piper and percy." frank opened his mouth to argue, but leo rambled on. "i'm not all smart and serious like annabeth or reyna or nico. and then there's you -" he looked up at frank and there was a small, humourless smile on his face, "- you're... so cool. and everybody likes hazel. i'm just... there."

"what? hey." frank's brain whirred to try to understand how leo would be unlikeable. "are you kidding me? of course you're funny." leo laughed like it was unbelievable, like frank's words were a joke. "leo, i'm being serious. you're really funny, and you're really smart. even if you don't realise it." frank reached out to wrap his hand around leo's, who flinched.

"frank, i -"

"oh, i'm really sorry," frank said, stepping back, panic rushing through him, "you don't like being touched, do you?" leo turned to him and his mouth fell open, confusion on his face. "it's just... i can tell. because whenever - it's like - you know, when someone..." he gulped and felt nervousness rise in his chest, "you, i don't know, tense up, i guess."

leo looked up and pursed his lips together. "i'm seriously that obvious? jeez, that's kinda pathetic."

a wolf howled in the distance, echoing eerily around the camp. wind blew through the trees, making the leaves rustle and casting strange shadows on the ground. it was growing dark, the light of the sun making way for a starless night sky. "do you want to talk about it?" frank offered.

"it's really lame," leo replied before making another bubble with his chewing gum and popping it like the candy had offended him personally, "but like, if there's anyone i trust with it, it's you, i guess." there was a faint blush across his face as he turned away. "so, well, you remember calypso? after the whole triumvirate thing, she kinda changed. it's not that she's a bad person, but after so many years of paradise and peace, i don't think she was ready to deal with... everything she had to deal with.

so after all that shit we went through, she wasn't right. i mean, it wasn't just them - the emperors or whatever. it was us, too. after centuries of being forced into love, of course she wouldn't like being in a relationship, even if she's finally free from her island." leo was getting agitated now, running his hands through his hair. "i should've known better. it was my fault in the end."

"hey," frank murmured, glancing at leo, trying to make his voice as soft and comforting as it would go, "whatever it was... it wasn't your fault. i'm sure of it. you don't have to blame yourself just because you could've prevented something." it was something hazel had told him, and he still thought about it, years later.

leo looked down at the metal he had pulled out from his tool belt. "right. thanks. anywho, after that she was, like, meaner. it was so much more than that, _duh,_ but that's basically it. and she wasn't abusive in a sense, but she made me feel like shit a lot of the time. i never told her, so it really was a little bit my fault. and even though we broke up, whenever someone touches me it's like i remember how i felt when i was with her."

deep breath. silence.

"pretty lame, right?"

"of course not!" frank said, almost indignant. "it's not lame at all. leo, i'm sorry you had to through that, and i'm sorry she treated you so badly. you didn't deserve that and i'm really sorry, and obviously i don't understand but if there's anything -" he inhaled, the words flying out of his mouth like a waterfall, "- anything i can to do to help -"

a pair of arms wrapped around frank, whose heart was pounding in his chest so fast it was probably unhealthy. his face was as red as a tomato, leo caught him in a hug, so short his head only came up to frank's chest. when he stepped away, his eyes were soft and fond. "you know, i hate being touched, but when it's you..." he winked.

frank rolled his eyes despite himself, although he was unable to resist the smile appearing on his own face. "stop messing around."

"why?" leo pouted in his trademark way (which frank thought was adorable). "is the flirting not working? oh, what am i talking about, of course it's working. no one can resist me." he jutted out his hips and smirked. "what? are you gonna _kiss_ me?"

"keep it up and i just might." frank's mouth fell open and he clapped his hand over his face in embarrassment, but leo just laughed.

"good, then. i think i need the change of pace." leo grinned, and it seemed genuine; unfiltered, unadulterated happiness behind it. "frank..." the playfulness in his face faded away, replaced with something more serious and sincere. "thank you. i really needed this." he reached out, touching frank's shoulder, before drawing away and escaping beyond the fence into who-knows-where.

>>>

frank slid to his knees on the bed as leo laid atop it, tapping away at a monster-proof laptop. another one of this inventions that frank thought was amazing, not that he'd ever tell leo that. "hey," the latter greeted, so engrossed in whatever he was doing that he didn't bother giving frank a second glance.

"hi," he replied, "what's that?" leo murmured something about annabeth and architecture and olympus before he sat up, leaning against the headboard, tongue half sticking out of his mouth in his trademark 'weirdly endearing' way. frank just smiled softly and placed his spear against the bedside table, taking off and folding his cloak into a neat pile on his desk.

"miss me?" leo asked, a small grin curving on his face despite the fact his eyes were still concentrated on the screen. 

"you wish," frank teased. yes, he missed leo, but he didn't need to know that. in response to frank's answer, leo turned and pouted with big puppy-dog eyes that made him look like a child. "why'd you ask? did _you_ miss me?"

leo stuck out his tongue. "absolutely... not." they both laughed and frank settled down onto the mattress, a heap of blankets and pillows. it was the time of year when everything was beginning to get cold, cold enough that some people started wearing jackets and vests during war games. frank sighed and stretched back as leo finally put aside his laptop. "somethin' wrong?"

frank shook his head. "no. nothing much. just thinking." leo tilted his head like he wanted to know more, but frank didn't really know what to say or how to phrase his thoughts. _i really enjoy maiming people for some reason_ just didn't come out right without sounding psychopathic. "really, leo. don't worry about it."

except leo was leo, who probably searched for the most unpredictable way to react in a situation and then do it, and he swung his leg over and around frank's hip before settling into his lap. "are you sure?" he asked, flippant but still sincere. "i think i could help. i'm good at that." leo stuck out a finger gun and winked.

despite his rapidly reddening face, frank laughed. "i'm good, leo. for real." his weird, vaguely deranged tendencies and emotions could wait for another time. he shot leo a look, a silent request, and leo nodded. frank smiled and placed his hands on leo's hips. "although i am curious to what that help entails."

"aw, come on, you know."

"and _you're_ ridiculous," frank replied, adjusting his pants, "alright, off. i just spent like a whole day training some hyperactive kids. not to mention i also come home every day to a hyperactive kid." leo's mouth fell open in offense, but his eyes were filled with happiness. "kidding. relax, chatterbox, it'll only be a few minutes. i'm just going to change my clothes."

leo sighed and melted back against the bed, picking up his laptop and going back to click-clacking away. frank chuckled and opened his closet, picking out a shirt and some sweatpants before going into the bathroom to change. after he was done, frank traced a burn mark on his face, streaking from under his eye to his jaw. one that he had gotten from a friendly spar, one he remembered solely for leo's bewildered, apologetic face.

laughing to himself, frank walked back out and sat back down, watching amusedly as leo crawled back into his lap like it was a seat. his head settled against the crook of frank's neck and he yawned. "you know, i wasn't lying. sometimes there are... flashes... but most of the time, it really is like before. even better, actually. when it's you."

"so you like it?" frank trailed his fingers up and down leo's arms. "when i touch you?" leo, out of words for once, just grinned and nodded, knocking his forehead against the other's. "and here i thought you were so reserved." their mouths fell against each other, and it was nice. even better than nice. wonderful in a way he didn't think kissing would be.

when they pulled away, frank was beaming. as usual, he didn't know what to say, but this time it was comfortable, silent in the way a home was. relaxed, peaceful, serene. frank ran his hands over leo's thighs and thought about how lucky he was. "hey."

"...hey."

_**fin.** _

**Author's Note:**

> hi, and thank you for reading! a few notes:
> 
> \- the momentary stall on my other fics is because i've been working on this over the course of the weekend. so not to worry, those both will be updated shortly! 
> 
> \- i've really been toying with the idea of leo being touch-averse, in a sense, and i hope it wasn't stupid or too out-of-character. any comments or criticism on his characterisation or any of the characters in this fic would be appreciated loads.
> 
> \- i also didn't mean to antagonise calypso. i originally intended her to be a victim of trauma, someone who has yet to adapt and made some mistakes along the way but was still well-intentioned. despite that, she really came of as some kind of abuser in this, which was again absolutely not my intention. it is of course up to interpretation, and if you want to see her that way, that's okay, too, but i just thought i would let you know my purpose with this story.
> 
> thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed, and goodbye! x


End file.
